JOHN STEWART – Fire in The Wind – (RSO) – 1977

Stewart had a strange career.

Perhaps, but I don’t know, for a time he was known as one of the vocalists for the (successful) folk band The Kingston Trio.

Nowadays, that isn’t that widely known.

Normally people may recall him as a 70s singer songwriter.

More likely they will think of him as a one hit wonder circa 1979.

A pity because Stewart was a convincing vocalist and quite the individual singer songwriter.

He had a warm voice, sharp mind, and good taste so even when he made concessions to then contemporary (now dated) sounds the music is always totally palatable.

Or it seems to be.

I only have two other albums, and the most well regarded ones.

I would think that is more than most punters.

It’s not much considering he wrote some 400 songs and released a couple of dozen solo albums.

Stewart was born in San Diego, California and grew up in Pasadena and Claremont listening to the country music of the time.
 
Wikipedia: Stewart’s first venture into popular music was with a high school garage band known as Johnny Stewart and the Furies. Influenced by the reigning icons of the day, Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, the Furies toured southern California colleges and coffee houses, releasing one single, "Rockin’ Anna," which was a minor, regional hit….  Following the breakup of the Furies and a short time as a member of The Woodsmen, Stewart teamed up with Gil Robbins (father of actor Tim Robbins) and John Montgomery to form The Cumberland Three, a group patterned after, and heavily influenced by, the increasingly popular Kingston Trio. The major accomplishment of The Cumberland Three was a two-LP set of Songs from the Civil War, with the albums containing a compilation of songs from the Confederacy and the Union, respectively. In all, the Cumberland Three released three albums, after which Stewart left the group to join the Kingston Trio, replacing Trio founder Dave Guard in 1961….The Kingston Trio had emerged from the relatively crowded San Francisco folk music culture in 1957, using a mixture of calypso, pop, and folk styles, along with several forms of comedy, in their act. Relying on new pop-oriented arrangements of folk music classics as well as some original compositions, the Trio earned their first gold record with "Tom Dooley", and thereby launched a major revival in folk music that would lead to and influence the careers of Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul, & Mary, and John Denver, among others. The group had become one of the best-known and best-selling acts on the folk music scene, and were enjoying a lucrative recording and touring contract with Capitol Records, having ten albums under their collective belts, when Dave Guard departed the group in 1961 to explore other musical directions. Stewart was selected by the remaining members Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane as Guard’s successor, bringing with him his respected skills as a musician, composer, and performer…. Reynolds, Shane, and Stewart would record a dozen albums together, taking the music of the Trio into new directions, including more original material, and performing covers of songs by relative newcomers Tom Paxton, Mason Williams and Gordon Lightfoot….The pop-folk era began to wane as the music of groups such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones increasingly dominated the charts, and in 1967 the members of the Kingston Trio decided to disband.

Stewart was always critically favoured with the critics and made some magnificent albums – “California Bloodlines” from 1969 perhaps the most highly regarded.

There are many beauties to Stewart’s music though his voice and wit stand out.

Stewart has a fine, deep voice not dissimilar to Johnny Cash. He has, perhaps, a little more range than Cash but, like Johnny, his voice is very expressive within its range. When he sings it feels as if he is sitting across from you having a chat.

The chat though it not an idle, scatterbrained one whilst twittering or facebooking.

Stewart, without any pompousness (and hopefully none from me in mentioning the same), is, perhaps, one of the most intellectual of the singer songwriters.

He isn’t as studied (or obvious) as Leonard Cohen.

His folk and country influences keep him more grounded so he is akin to Dylan without the obscure lyrics or perhaps Phil Ochs without the politics.

He hung out with Tim Hardin, Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt but had no problem praising Tommy Sands voice.

He had it all but he never really had any success until he adopted some sooth 70s sounds.

This album, his ninth solo album, is a testing of those waters.

The sound, a synthesis between personal observations and commercially popular soft rock, was fully realised on his next album "Bombs Away Dream Babies" (1979) which reached #10 while it’s big single "Gold" went to #5. Two other tracks, "Midnight Wind" and "Lost Her in the Sun", made #28 and #34 respectively.

OK, maybe, commercially, he was a one trick pony because he never achieved that success again but he continued releasing records and performing up till he died.

As slick as it is there are quite a few good tracks, despite Stewart suffering from wind ….. “Fire in the Wind”, “On you like the Wind”, “Promise the Wind” and, even, “Morning Thunder”.

Tracks (best in italics)

• Fire In The Wind – a 70s country pop rock song – and a good one.
• Rock It In My Own Sweet Time – slick but you can hear the woods under the gloss. It’s good wood.
• On You Like The Wind – a Caribbean type of feel to this one.
• The Runner – superior mush – singer songwriter with a nod to "Piano Man" era Billy Joel but less sweet.
• Morning Thunder – a nice piece of country rock. Though in Australia morning thunder would likely elicit sniggers – well from juvenile regressives like me.
• Promise The Wind – a good bouncy almost country rock song. Great lyrics.
• Boston Lady – a singer songwriter tune with the folk imagery you would expect, Perhaps reminiscent of Tim Hardin (for the title alone).
• 18 Wheels – magnificent trucker song with a difference. There is no male bravado. Observations and humour. Lyrics
• The Last Hurrah – a gentle, slightly melancholy, song.

Loyal friends and front row dancers
Hitch you wagon to a star
A chilly wind blew cold this morning
This may be the last hurrah

• The Wild Side Of You – A response or companion piece to “The Fighting Side of Me” by Merle Haggard, perhaps? Filler perhaps but bouncy and catchy

 
And …

At first I thought it was too slick but the album grows on you and the smooth sounds don’t distract from the genuinely perceptive lyrics….. I’m keeping it.
 
Chart Action
 
US
Singles
—

Album
1977 Fire In The Wind The Billboard 200 #126

England
—

 
Sounds
 
18 Wheels
attached below

John Stewart – 18 Wheels

The Last Hurrah
live recently
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-YltYuRKhA

Others
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eC5tiUTLHE

Gold
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1JosrXRxGA&list=PL45D6AA7F7964CF7C
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-CJji921gM

Interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtOYNwhG0kQ

Kingston Trio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nccqzhy8mo8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIW8T-sNU10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubz1ydY4-O0
 
Review
http://www.allmusic.com/album/fire-in-the-wind-mw0000016119
 
Bio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stewart_(musician)
http://www.sonic.net/~roadman/bloodnotes/
http://bitemyfoot.org.uk/reviews/leigh98/leigh98.html
http://www.beautifulbotany.com/Latest/Latest-Stories-2008/Feb-John%20Stewart/John%20Stewart.htm
http://www.hiddenhistory.com/page1/storhom3.htm?http://www.hiddenhistory.com/page6/jstewone.htm

Website
http://bitemyfoot.org.uk/
 
Trivia

-Stewart’s brother Mike, who died in 2002, founded the folk-rock group We Five in the mid 1960s.

-He wrote "Daydream Believer " for The Monkees. He has been covered by Eddy Arnold, The Association, Beat Farmers, Nanci Griffith, Robert Goulet, Limelighters, Lobo, Lovin’ Spoonful, Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte, Pat Boone, Roseanne Cash, Barry McGuire, Modern Folk Quartet, Anne Murray, PJ Proby, Jimmy Rogers, We Five, Glenn Yarbrough.

– Musicians: John Stewart – guitar, Jon Woodhead – guitar, Troy Seals – guitar, Reggie Young – guitar,  Joey Harris – guitar, background vocals,  Dave Kirby – guitar,  Shane Keister – keyboard,  David Briggs – keyboard,  Bill Cuomo – keyboard,  Mickey Raphael – harmonica,  Gary Weisberg – percussion/drums,  Kenneth Buttrey – drums,  Chris Whalen – bass/background vocals,  John Williams – bass,  Buffy Ford Stewart – background vocals,  Herb Pederson – background vocals,  Denny Brooks – background vocals.